5.1 or 7.1 ? (1 Viewer)

[carpenterfan]

hey guys i was just wondering if i was better off with a 5.1 system or 7.1. only because according to widescreen review mag. which i read all the time , if you are putting together a 7.1 system , when listening to dvd's in 5.1 , the surround channels will be coming through the side speakers , not the backs. when you listen to 7.1 naturally it's fine, but there are a lot more 5.1 dvd's then 7.1. so why waste the money going over to 7.1? any opinions on this?

 

[SethH]

Lots of people who just have 5.1 systems place their rear speakers to the sides of the listening position, so I don't think this is a major drawback.

Also, any new receiver will use some version of a matrix algorithm to put sound into the rear speakers. It's not discrete sound, but you most likely won't notice the difference.

If you do go 7.1, I would suggest getting either bipole or dipole speaker for the sides.

Where is your seating position relative to your back wall? If you seats are too close to the back wall 7.1 may not make much sense anyway.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Old Bridge, NJ! I alwas wondered where the "old bridge" really is. Never saw it or got an acceptible answer from any residents.

Anyway, I've had both and prefer 5.1. 7.1 to me is too much distration in the rears, it overwhelms the experience. 5.1 with dipoles in the rear is what I'm enjoying right now.

 

[ladyg11]

5.1 with dipoles in the rear is what I'm enjoying right now. .

Hmmm,
I was wondering if this is the answer to having 5.1 in the bedroom. My bed is against the wall so I don't have optimum speaker placement. Currently the surrounds are wall mounted, facing each other, and about 2-3 feet above my head, but they are right at ear level and I prefer them behind my ears. I do a lot of work on my laptop in bed and I hate that it doesn't image the way I prefer. But dipoles are on the sides right? So then that would work better, am I seeing this correctly?

 

[chuckg]

With 5.1 you've got a pair of surround speakers that are just a little behind you. The extra two speakers of 7.1 are back speakers, that are definitely way back behind you, and spaced about as far apart as the L and R speakers are.

So, I don't know why some folks say that 5.1 sound on a 7.1 system comes from the wrong place - it doesn't.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Dipole doesn't indicate the placement of the speaker, it's a speaker type. On traditional speakers you have a surface with drivers pointed in a single direction. On dipoles you have some drivers which are replicated twice, pointed in different directions. The effect is to diffuse the sound. There is also bipole which is another can of worms, but likened to dipole.

In my experience surround sound speakers sound better the higher you can put them on the wall no matter what their configuration. In my bedroom I have in-ceiling rears and they are terriffic.

 

[ladyg11]

Sorry but I don't think I worded my question correctly - I'm currently at work and my students are distracting me with zillions of questions and stuff that I have to look at "right now," however, I think Mr. Hamm's reply was close enough to what I was looking for.